After a bit of a difficult week logistically (a busy work week plus a medical treatment Friday night, a Girl Scout event all day Saturday, and an out-of-town guest this weekend), I was able to reach my first major 30 Day Shred milestone: I completed Day 10* this afternoon.
(Note: If you've been following the progress of the Shredheads, you will have noticed that I'm hitting Day 10 more slowly than some of my partners-in-exercise, because I'm not working out every day. Before I committed to this non-consecutive course of action for the 30 Day Shred, I double checked to make sure Jillian would be OK with this approach. Apparently on one of her podcasts she says that it's OK to do the Shred on alternate days as long as you do some sort of exercise on your non-Shred days.)
So as promised, here are my Before and After pics following Day 10 of the 30 Day Shred (the end of Level 1):
Aside from the frizzier hair and goofy expression in today's pics, I honestly wasn't sure I saw any differences between the before (gray pants) and the after (black pants) until I saw the pictures together like this. There are some definite changes:
- I can see more muscle definition in my arms in the after pictures, and the muscles are actually pretty pronounced in person thanks to all those pushups!
- In the back view my love handles are much less pronounced, and my waist is slightly more whittled.
There are changes that aren't evident in the photos as well. Although it's hard to *see* a lot of difference in my stomach, the muscles underneath that tummy flab are starting to firm up considerably. (I've got a decent amount of work ahead of me to get those truly tight since two c-sections took a lot of the definition out of my stomach.) And even my thunder thighs are starting to lose some of their wiggle and jiggle -- they are firming up quite nicely, and I've lost some girth there as well.
My biggest challenge in the week ahead will be getting back on the diet bandwagon. I find that when I fall off, I fall off REALLY hard and indulge in all sorts of terrible stuff. Unfortunately, this tends to negate any progress I've made with exercise and weight loss. I don't really know why I tend to go for all-out sinfulness, since I rarely feel deprived on Weight Watchers -- I think it is more about boredom than hunger. I need to find a way to reward myself that doesn't involve eating or shopping. If you all have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!
It's always a bit scary to post a picture of one's bare stomach on the Internet, so let me just go ahead and publish this post before I change my mind. ;-)
OMG You look fantastic. I agree completely with your analysis!
Posted by: Shredhead | March 29, 2009 at 08:21 PM
Wow you look great!! Re:food - now is the perfect time to replace some food options with fruit! I've started doing that and it fills me up, is better for me and less calories. Strawberries, grapes and canteloupe prices are dropping now that spring is arriving.
I should get brave enough to post pics too!
Posted by: Robin | March 29, 2009 at 08:35 PM
You look fabulous! Congratulations on sticking with it. Inspirational!
If you find out some other reward than shopping or eating, please post it! Cause I'm looking for that kind of reward too. (Beyond the whole "you'll feel so much better about yourself" thing. Need something a little more concrete, yo.)
Posted by: Angela | March 29, 2009 at 09:20 PM
Way to go! I can absolutely see a difference. It's really inspiring.
I wish I had an answer to another kind of reward. If I had any control over the weather, I'd reward myself with 74 degrees and sunshine, but alas, God didn't gift me with that kind of power. Drat.
Posted by: Stephanie | March 29, 2009 at 11:50 PM
I LOVE Stephanie's idea of good-weather rewards. I think the universe should really support that. And Nancy--you look amazing!
Posted by: mayberry | March 30, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Awesome job, Nance. Definitely can see the difference, my first was the handles section from the back/more definied curve at waist.
So proud of you, girl.
Posted by: jen from boston | March 30, 2009 at 01:30 PM
WOW - I can DEFINITELY see the difference.
That is awesome!
Posted by: mamatulip | March 30, 2009 at 04:42 PM
You look AWESOME! Woot! :)
Posted by: Jamie | March 30, 2009 at 07:29 PM
Look at you! Keep us posted!!
Posted by: Meg | March 30, 2009 at 10:16 PM
Oh yes, I can definitely see the difference. You're inspiring me, I must say.
Also it was so great to see your name pop up at my place. I agree with everything you said.
Posted by: Mad | March 31, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Yay! You're doing great. I can see a difference. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Wendy | April 02, 2009 at 12:34 AM
I am proud of you! All of this is almost inspiring me LOL
Posted by: Suebob | April 02, 2009 at 02:45 PM
You look great and you totally inspired me to start. I read this and then I ran into the living room and turned on my DVD. Then I died. But, then I came back to life and vowed to do it again tomorrow! :)
Posted by: Karly | April 04, 2009 at 10:54 PM
I can totally see a difference. Way to go!
Posted by: Stimey | April 05, 2009 at 05:47 PM
Wow - that's pretty impressive.
Posted by: magpie | April 06, 2009 at 06:33 PM
Yeah, I agree with everyone else. You do look a lot better. Things that look insignificant can make a surprising difference. When I'm doing tons of yoga I don't lose any weight but people are always commenting on how I lost so much weight...
You are pretty cute in both pics, I should say. You have a very, very nice figure in both. You look young and springy in all the right places.
Posted by: ozma | April 10, 2009 at 05:37 AM
I've just started the 30 day Shred and I've been looking through blogs like yours of people who are doing it too.. I feel so encouraged! I'm going to be tracking my progress on my blog as well. I'm only on day 2... I hope I see as much of a difference as you do at day 10!
http://thelastten.wordpress.com
Posted by: Emily | April 19, 2009 at 04:41 PM
You go girl! I need to get back into the gym! I keep falling off of the wagon!
Posted by: Keyona | April 28, 2009 at 03:15 PM